Book was missing several pages. Not entirely sure the author is qualified to advise on this topic

Tried to feed my dogs all raw diet but am now doing a combination of dry food and raw and cooked foods. My 2 little dogs have cast iron stomach and love everything. They can handle raw chicken and bones and raw fish and it gives them harder stools. They love cut veggies. Solid Gold is one of my favorite brands. I mostly supplement by looking for organ meat like chicken and beef livers, gizzards, lungs, etc. as well as muscle meat (ground fatty hamburger; soup bones, etc.) Supplement with fish oil, yeast, garlic, etc.

The homeopathic remedies were very helpful when I rescue a little kitty who seemed ill and could not afford vet fees. I cleared up the signs of illness in a few days.

Good basic reference book for my shelf.

This book is a MUST-HAVE for all dog owners or cat owners. Even if you are not deciding to feed your pet a natural diet, the information about animal health, illnesses, and homeopathy for pets is unmatched anywhere. This book was extremely informative and very easy to read. In fact, I am starting my cats on Pitcairn's natural food diet today. It's very simple -- if I wouldn't eat it myself, why would I feed it to them?

Recipes have been great for my animals, but the book itself is a bit overwhelming to read.

An excellent resource for anyone who prefers natural care for their pets. This covers day-to-day issues as well as treatments for ill health.

Full of recipes and info about feeding and caring for your pet naturally. Interesting read.

Some very good information here about canine nutrition. A good base from which to build upon as canine nutrition becomes more current and scientifically based.

This book is a must-have for any pet owner. I'm assuming your pet is a dog or a cat.
It includes recipes for special-needs dogs that you would have to pay a veterinarian hundreds of dollars to reveal. Seriously!
Helpful!

Dr. Pitcairn is a Gastroentrologists; a doctor or veterinarian that studies diseases of the digestive system. Since the beginning, Pitcairn has always wanted to treat animals and help make our furry companions live a healthier life. Throughout his study of veterinary medicine he noticed a chain-link on how healthy and how long an animal lives based upon what is in an animals diet. The book discusses various situations a dog or cat can endure during life such as obesity, excessive weight loss, and various skin conditions that can be caused by what they digest on the daily. With these unfortunate circumstances also come listed remedies that can literally save your dog or cat! It is truly amazing how much of an affect different foods can effect the body. This is a fantastic book for pet owners, and future veterinarians because it is jam-packed with educational information that people would need to know to make sure their animal is living just right.

Characters: Dr.Pitcairn
Setting: Animals digestive system :)))
Conflict: Skin & other health issues due to not being fed right.
Ideas/theme: Animal Nutrition & Health
Favorite Quote: "You wouldn't believe the difference!" Quote said by a pet owner who's dog was greasy, loosing hair, and was sluggish. After changing the dogs diet, the dog had improved drastically.
Likes: There was a lot of useful information that I can apply to my animals diet to help them live healthier.
Dislikes: There aren't any. I really loved all of the information provided.

This book was an interesting read, but both myself and several friends put our dogs [11 total] on the recommended diet and dry food brand. ALL dogs reacted badly - despite a slow taper to the new diet - and we ended up back on our old system. I have since read elsewhere that domesticated dogs have evolved a different digestive system and do not tolerate raw meats well (which Pitcairn recommends). And all of our dogs did very poorly on the book's recommended dry food brand.

Note: I highly recommend Purina Pro Plan Selects dry dog food, which is what we were all originally using and went back to. It's an excellent, high grade dog food. (Btw: I'm not a Purina spokesperson!) And we supplement with a little helping of cooked meats; whatever we're having for dinner. And giving fish oil capsules - as recommended by my vet - has made a huge difference in my dogs' coats and joints/mobility.

If you ever considered cooking for your cat or dog after the pet food scandal, this is the go-to book. Offers lots of info on dietary needs and lots of recipes. The overview on the pet food industry was eye-opening and deeply disturbing.

I used the recipes from the original edition of this book until the spine on the book wore out. The new edition is just as good.